1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to multi-purpose articles of clothing and article carriers, and more particularly to a sportsman or survival jacket which article can be converted into a backpack and having a special pocket in the back panel for housing and carrying a full-sized tent.
2. Preliminary Discussion
Conventional outerwear, such as an upper torso covering jacket for outdoor enthusiasts and hikers, is usually lightweight, has a wind and weather resistant outer shell, a lining to keep the user warm, and a plurality of pockets on both the inner and outer panels of the jacket mainly for carrying small articles. During any given hike, changes in temperature due to, for example, changing weather conditions or, if the hiker is climbing a mountain, changes in altitude, can occur quickly and often unexpectedly. On the one hand, if the weather is generally warm and sunny, which warm temperature may be amplified by any physical exertion involved, it may be desirable to wear a jacket in the morning hours and remove the jacket during the midday hours. However, it is inconvenient for a hiker to manually carry a jacket, as one wishes to keep his or her hands generally free during hiking. Thus, it is desirable to have a means for conveniently storing or carrying a garment without having to carry an extra backpack or pouch. On the other hand, there are also times when the weather quickly becomes colder, and a jacket is required for warmth or protection.
In other instances, such as an overnight hiking trip or even a day trip to a lake or beach, it is often desirable to bring a tent along to provide additional protection from the sun or cold when resting. However, as is well-known to outdoor enthusiasts, quickly changing weather conditions or other emergencies such as an injury from a fall or the like, may arise, which situations may be further aggravated if they occur in a remote area where the hiker may be stranded overnight or longer. In such situations, in addition to a tent it may be important to have other survival gear, such a thermal blankets, flashlights, emergency medical equipment, or other provisions. On more routine trips, while initially it may be desirable to bring a backpack to carry a lunch or the like, after such items have been removed and the backpack is essentially useless, it would be convenient if the backpack could be converted into and worn as a jacket Such interconvertibility would eliminate the need for carrying both a jacket and a backpack in many situations.
The present inventor has developed a particularly versatile article which can be either worn as a jacket, or, if desired, can be converted from jacket form into a backpack or carrying bag. In addition, while most jackets do not include a storage pocket large enough to fit a full-size tent, a special pocket is provided in the back lining of the inventor""s jacket for carrying a light but essentially full size tent, including all of the poles, stakes and the like necessary to erect it. Such oversize pocket covers almost or substantially the entire area of the back panel of the jacket so that the tent can be laid neatly and compactly into the pocket without bulging or appearing awkward. The jacket also includes a reflective emergency or signaling means on the outermost side of the tent pocket cover or panel, which cover is revealed when the outer lining of the jacket is rolled up. The reflective panel may also be completely removed from the jacket to be used as an emergency flag, helicopter landing marker, or the like. The jacket also preferably provides a plurality of specially sized and constructed pockets, a pair of which are on the forearm area of the sleeves for carrying gloves, and a pair on the upper arms for carrying thermofoil blankets. This eliminates the need to carry these items in the more conventional side and front pockets of the jacket where they contribute to excess bulk and bulging of the jacket. Other special pockets for holding survival gear or other equipment may be provided. In order to help distribute the load forces exerted on the jacket when the tent is housed in the pocket or pouch on the back of the jacket, a pair of shoulder straps and a waist belt are provided attached to the pocket through the inner wall of the jacket such that the pocket is supported across substantially its entire width and height. In addition, such straps are used support the interconvertible article or clothing of the invention when used in backpack form, as shown and described in detail below.
Many different types of multi-functional or convertible jackets have been developed over the years, both for hikers or outdoorsman who may encounter inclement weather or other emergencies, as well as for everyday use.
For example, it is well known to provide a poncho which can be adapted for use as a shelter or tent, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 578,691 issued to H. I. Conant. Conant discloses a single sheet of canvas which can be used alternatively as a poncho, blanket, knapsack and shelter tent if combined with two or more similar ponchos. See also U.S. Pat. No. 1,155,800 issued to A. H. Corbet U.S. Pat. No. 1,895,911 issued to G. C. Bosson, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 2,344,379 issued to E. H. Wallin and U.S. Pat. No. 4,180,867 to M. I. Ridgeway, Jr. for similar disclosures. The resulting shelters in such references, however, are primitive at best, and provide only limited protection to the user from wind, rain, cold, and other elements, and are not convenient for sleeping. In addition, all such references require use of the garment itself as part of the shelter or covering. Often this may not be desirable, for example, in cold weather or other emergency situation when the jacket is the wearer""s only significant protection from the elements. U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,735 issued to G. Rolf et al. discloses a combination poncho and tent wherein a supplemental tapered sleeve is attached to the poncho to form a tent. While such configuration is useful for its limited purpose, it still does not provide a complete tent structure separate from the garment. U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,521 issued to R. E. Asher et al. shows a similar garment.
Jackets having large pockets situated on the back outer panel are also known. For example, U.S. Design Pat. No. 251,936 issued to T. G. Shaw shows a jacket having a detachable pocket or pack on the back of the jacket. However, such pocket extends outwardly from the main portion of the jacket and is not concealed or protected by the outer lining of the jacket or shell as in the present invention. In addition, the Shaw pocket does not contain smaller pockets on the outer wall of the large pocket for holding tenting provisions such as tent poles and stakes. Similarly, while the garments disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,187, U.S. Pat. No. 5,784,719 issued to L. Robinson, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,644 issued to Mengato, also have large capacity pockets, such pockets are also not concealed or covered by the jacket shell and would be inconvenient if not unusable for storing and carrying tenting provisions.
Numerous jacket and backpack combinations are also known in the prior art. Several references show a jacket having a knapsack or backpack attached to the back of the jacket, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,315 issued to R. C. Yellen et al., which discloses a combination coat and detachable backsack supported by shoulder straps on the inner panel of the jackets. See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,315 issued to R. C. Yellen et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,784,719 issued to L. Robinson. In other references, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,735 issued to R. E. McLaughlin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,831 issued to Greenberger et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,777 issued to T. Park, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,117 issued to G. Prendergast, the jacket portion is foldable into a compartment in the backpack. However, unlike the present invention, such combinations include separate backpack and jacket structures, while in the present invention the jacket is essentially folded to form the backpack.
U.S Pat. No. 4,307,470 issued to S. L. Ezell, entitled xe2x80x9cJac Pac,xe2x80x9d discloses a jacket that can be folded up or into itself to form its own backpack. While such jacket is similar to the present inventor""s jacket in that the jacket and backpack are formed from the same article or garment, the Ezell article contains straps on the outer back panel of the jacket, which straps are useless when the garment is in jacket form, are unsightly, and could be dangerous as they could become caught or snagged on some object in the environment. In the jacket of the present invention, on the other hand, the straps are located on the inside of the article in jacket form, and only when the jacket is turned inside out to be utilized as a backpack are the straps on the outside of the jacket. U.S. Design Pat. No. 403,836, issued to B. E. Len also discloses an ornamental design for a jacket which apparently can be folded in order to be carried as a backpack. However, the Len design apparently has no special means for closing the bottom of the jacket other than folding, and appears to act as a means for carrying the jacket alone while providing little or no additional storage capacity between the layers or panels of the jacket. U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,776 issued to C. J. Bossen and U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,520 issued to G. A. Gazzola also disclose coats which can be folded to be carried in the form of a carrying bag or the like. However, neither of such references is converted into a carrying bag in a manner similar to the present inventor""s interconvertible article of clothing.
Despite the large amount of prior art in this area, there remains a need for a multi-purpose article or garment having a pocket which can comfortably store and carry a full-sized tent and tenting provisions, such jacket in addition having interior support straps to support and distribute the weight of the tent, and in addition which jacket can be folded or converted into a backpack for carrying items when it is not required to be worn as a jacket. In order to maximize the amount of available storage space in the jacket when converted into a pack, a special flap or bottom cover is provided which completely closes the bottom of the converted jacket. The interconvertible article of clothing of the present invention also includes a detachable brightly colored warning or distress signalling panel under the back panel of the jacket, as well as special pockets for holding tent poles and other tenting provisions. Although the present jacket is primarily designed to be worn as an outdoors, hiking, or survival jacket, due to the light weight and comfort of the jacket as well as other desirable characteristics, it is envisioned that the combination article may also be commonly worn for every day use, wherein presumably the interconvertible article would normally be used either as a jacket or carrying bag but wherein whenever a need for the alternate configuration is required, the article would then be quickly convertible for such use.
It is therefore a primary object of the invention to provide an interconvertible jacket having a weather-proof outer shell that is lightweight and can be worn in a variety of weather conditions and temperatures.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an interconvertible jacket which can be folded into and used as a backpack or article-carrying device.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a combination jacket/backpack in a single article of clothing.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide an article having a large storage compartment located on the back panel thereof for holding a full-size tent and all accompanying tenting provisions.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a garment having backpack straps and belt attached to the interior side of the back of the garment to support the tent the when the article of clothing of the present invention is worn as a jacket and to support the backpack when converted into and worn as a backpack.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a detachable reflective signal on the back of the jacket which is located on the outer portion of the large storage pocket on the back of the jacket and is visible when the back outer panel is rolled up.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a jacket having special pockets on the inner side of the cover for the large storage compartment or pocket for storing tenting poles and the like.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a jacket having a series of pockets for holding survival gear and the like.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a garment having a weather resistant watch secured to one sleeve of the garment and a weather resistant compass secured to the other sleeve of the garment.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a jacket having pockets located in the forearms of the garment for holding or storing a pair of gloves, which gloves are detachably secured to the jacket by a strap.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will become clear upon review of the following detailed description in conjunction with the appended drawings.
The present invention provides a combination jacket/backpack which allows users to easily carry and conceal many of the items which are necessary to survive in the outdoors or wilderness, as well as a versatile article of clothing that can also be used for everyday use. In the preferred embodiment, positioned centrally and covering substantially the back panel of the jacket is a large pocket used to store a full sized tent. The pocket is covered or concealed by the outer shell of the jacket, which shell can be rolled up and secured around the shoulder area of the jacket. Situated under the outer panel is a detachable second panel or pocket cover having a phosphorescent or reflective coating on one side, which acts as the front panel of the tent pocket as well as a signaling device to increase the visibility of the wearer in the dark. In addition, since the weight of the tent on the back of the jacket would normally tend to strain or distort the jacket in such area, in order to more evenly distribute the load forces on the jacket a pair of adjustable shoulder straps as well as a waist belt are provided on the inner side of the back panel. The jacket also contains a plurality of pockets on the front and back sections for holding other survival necessities, such as gloves, a thermofoil blanket, and the like.
While the present article can be worn as a jacket with or without the tent, the garment can also be converted from jacket form into a backpack, wherein the panels of the jacket are converted to act as the backpack enclosure. To convert the article from jacket form to backpack form, first the sleeves of the jacket are folded rearwardly across the back panel. Next, the front panels are folded rearwardly on top of the sleeves and are held together by a reversible zipper closure. The bottom of the jacket is then secured, first by fully tightening the adjustable drawstring or cord around the lower periphery of the jacket using cord locks or clamps provided on the drawstring, which clamps are also used to adjust the comfort of the jacket in jacket form. After the drawstring is fastened, a rubber coated flap or panel is secured over the bottom portion of the jacket, forming the final closure of the backpack. Since in converting the jacket into backpack form the jacket has been turned inside out, the waist belt and shoulder straps are now situated on the outer surface of the converted backpack, which straps and waist belt can now be used to carry the pack in the normal manner. Articles to be stored in the backpack are inserted through what was the neck and shoulder area of the jacket, which can also be secured by a drawstring. In such manner, a backpack having a larger amount of storage space than in most prior art combination garment/backpacks is provided. In converting the article from backpack form to jacket form, the above procedure is essentially carried out in reverse order.